Dell unveils new XPS systems earlier than planned

Dell's official announcement isn't until 2 p.m. ET today, but thanks to the company's Web site jumping the gun, we can now discuss the particulars of Dell's three new XPS systems. All three have been written about already in one form or another. The notebook-desktop hybrid Dell XPS M2010 was first unveiled at CES, information about the ultra-luxe ultraportable XPS M1210 gaming laptop was leaked in early May, and Dell began showing off pictures of the XPS 700 high-end desktop at E3. All three are on sale now.

The XPS M2010 is perhaps the most unique of the bunch. It's technically a portable computer, but at nearly 20 pounds (18.3, for the base config), and with a 20-inch LCD, it's not exactly airplane-friendly. Dell considers it more of a second PC that you might bring with you from place to place, although it does have a battery. Specs are as follows:

The sub-5-pound XPS M1210 laptop brings ultraportability to Dell's gaming notebook line. It's got the same leathery covering as the XPS M2010 and looks and feels like an expensive piece of hardware (Dell gave us a preview of all three systems a few weeks back). It starts at $1,300, and its specs are as follows:

Finally, the XPS 700 is the long overdue revamp to Dell's XPS gaming desktops. This high-end PC features a brand-new, Dell-designed chassis, as well as the latest gaming accessories, such as the PhysX physics accelerator card and Nvidia's Quad SLI graphics cards. It still uses Intel's chips, so Dell might continue to have a hard time swaying the hard-core gamers, but then Intel's CPUs are due for an overhaul soon, so that conventional wisdom could change as well. The XPS 700 starts at $2,410 and includes the following: